The Croft Oath
by TR Kurtis Trent
Summary: Lara has had enough of all her friends dying around and she still thinks its her fault, so she makes a choice to leave the Manor for good and will be working on her own but someone from her past is back but he needs her help, will she be able to help him or is he going to de as well.
1. Chapter 1: The past still hurts

**Hey guys this story has been given away by Solarii cause she can't write anymore because she is to busy with learning and working. I'll be taking over the story by the permission of her. I made some changes if there is reader who had read her story. I hope you like it and I will make it as good as it can be. Thank you and enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The past still hurts**

 _ **They find Lara and Roth encourages her to jump, once again intent on catching her, which he once again does, though he manages to get her into the helicopter. However Lara tell him we need to land the pilot says he can't the storm is too dangerous but she then threatens the pilot to make him land, but it is too late, and the storm destroys the helicopter.**_

 _ **On the ground Roth spots Lara and he fells for a pulse, he finds that she is not breathing and performs CPR. While helping her to safety, a small party of Solarii Brotherhood, led by Mathias, attacks them.**_

 _ **Roth shoots two Solarii with his pistol as Mathias closes in to attack Lara with a hatchet. Roth's gun run's out of ammo, right before Mathias hurls the axe at them.**_

 _ **Roth spins around while holding Lara to shield her, and takes the full force of the blow in his back, dropping a horrified Lara. Roth draws his second pistol and kills the remaining Solarii, except for Mathias, who flees after Roth resumed shooting.**_

 _ **"No!" Lara cries as Roth collapses. "I can't do this without you."**_

 _ **"You can do this, Lara." He takes a breath. "You're a Croft" and he hands her, his beloved twin pistols and then passes away. Lara cradles his body and cries.**_

I had failed then and now. Why did everyone close to me die? First my parents, Grim, Roth, Alex, Jacob, Werner, Kurtis and now Alister. They were people in danger when they were around me. I wish Egypt had killed me when it had a chance with that pyramid that collapsed onto me all those years ago. But somehow I survived that too.

Yes I'm a survivor but no one survives when they are around me. I am Lara Croft a born survivor, a Tomb Raider, a famous Archaeologist and adventurer but I am also a murderer, for I am responsible for all the people close to me for dying. People seem to know me as smart, bold, brutal, tough, daring, courageous, agile, dangerous and strong but in my eyes, I don't feel those things. I feel pain and sadness. I'll go one with my raiding but from now one, I am leaving everyone I love behind. I'm not losing more of my loved ones.

I wiped away the tears that had been forming in my eyes and I said my last words to Alister and placed a rose down on his grave and I took my backpack and I walked off to my garage and walked around all the cars and bike's until I got to the newest one in my collection, Kurtis's bike.

I claimed on after opening the doors of the garage and placing the helmet on my head. I revved the engine and slipped into gear and I speeded of, out of the courtyard and onto the road. I glance one more time at my Manor, and said goodbye to it. I would never return again, that's a Croft Oath.

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Solarii wants to thank everyone who has read and reviewed her story so far and she is very sorry for not completing this story but she says she didn't plan on this story from the beginning but she glad came so far...A big thanks to

TheQhamian, Josh14Raider and Ferilium for your reviews to Solarri's story and I hope I can make you happy and that you enjoy how I finish it


	2. Chapter 2: Memories

**Chapter 2: memories**

I came to the bus station and bought a ticket to Scotland, I didn't know why there but I just wanted to be as far as possible from the people I loved the most. I got my ticket and looked at the time, I only had 10 minutes left before the bus would leave so I went to the little shop and bought myself a take-away coffee. It is still morning and I felt like I didn't have the energy to walk or to stay up anymore. I looked for my bus after taking my coffee and paying for it, there is only 5 minutes left and I just started walking, keeping an eye out for bus 657.

Not far away, I found the bus, there is now just 2 minutes left and I quickly walked to the ticket man and handed him my ticket. After that I climbed in and sat myself at the window in the third row on the left side in front. Not long after that the bus started to move and I looked at the city I was in as the bus approached the exit of the city. I felt sad for leaving them all behind but it is for the best, isn't it? I sipped my coffee, and thought again about the Yamatai trip and how I lost almost everyone.

 _ **Mathias brings Sam to Himiko's previous body.**_

 _ **Mathias calls Himiko "Oh great Queen, though the trails I have brought you the vessel pour forth and return to this mortal coil." He goes on "Pour forth and be reborn and awaken!"**_

 _ **The decaying corpse comes to life, and her soul begins to transfer to Sam, who is powerless against it, and rendered unconscious, as Lara battles her way to her friend.**_

 _ **Mathias goes on calling Himiko "Pour forth and fill up this mortal coil, Rise! Rise with the rain, may your soul seep in filling this vessel. Upon these winds, Rise! Rise! Himiko from the storms I bring your life…" As the Himiko's soul fill Sam's body Lara Screams "Hold on Sam" and hear Mathias go on with the ceremony**_

" _ **May the winds carry you essence, Rise, great sun Queen, Awaken my Queen. Awaken! Here now, your vessel awaits."**_

 _ **Lara almost shoots the body of Himiko when Mathias shoots her bow out of her hands "No!" he shouts at her and he runs at her, she pulls out her pistol and aims it at him but he is too fast for her and hits the pistol out of her hand and hits her in the face making her almost fall to the ground. Lara then takes out her Axe.**_

" _ **This ends now!" Mathias shouts and Lara hits him in the back with the axe but it doesn't kill him yet and he takes out the axe while Lara, who is on the ground now grabs his pistol on his side and starts shooting him and as she gets up she grabs her pistol that's laying nearby and shoots him multiple time until he falls of the edge of the ruin.**_

 _ **Lara then turns to where Sam and Himiko's body is and stabs Himiko's body with a flame torch making her scream and stopping her soul from transferring to Sam's body.**_

 _ **Sam is now lying on the ground and Lara bens down by her side "Sam! Oh Sam, thank god."**_

" _ **Urgg...Wha? Sam tries to speak as she comes to "Lara... What's happening?"**_

" _ **Shhh…shhh…I'm here. You're safe now. It's okay…It's okay." Lara calms Sam down**_

" _ **You save me… I know you would." Sam speaks to Lara**_

" _ **I made you a promise. Let's get you home." As Lara tells Sam the sun cuts through the clouds, the curse has been lifted.**_

If I didn't save Sam that day I would have lost her to. Lara don't go there it's in the past, Sam is back in Japan with her father and she is safe. But the thought that if hadn't save her that day, Himiko would've once again ruled that land and that mad man Mathias would still live and Me and the rest would've been dead. Sight, I must stop think about that day, that day is where I took my father's footsteps and look where it brought me.


	3. Chapter 3: Seeing those eyes

**Chapter 3: Seeing those eyes**

I arrived in Perth and I climbed out of the bus and got myself a taxi to take me to the nearest hotel for the night. I'm still wondering what my next adventure will be and how I will do this without the help of Zip or Winston.

I sighed and got into a taxi, told him to take me to a hotel that wasn't far. He said that there is one not so far away and started driving there. We drove over the bridge and I looked at the lake. It is beautiful but I'm just not in the mood to be happy anymore. My life has been nothing but deaths. I still wished that I had died and not them. I wanted them to be alive. I wanted Kurtis to be next to me and not dead. A tear ran down my cheek as we came to a stop. I got out and looked at the hotel, it isn't really a fancy one but I didn't care. I paid the taxi and took my bag

I walked into the room after booking into the hotel, for one night. I sat down onto the bed and took out a journal. I started writing about my day. How I felt and what I wanted so badly. After doing that I fell asleep on the bed, not bothered to get underneath the bedcovers.

(…)

 _ **As Lara watches from a ledge, Whitman and Mathias lead a captive Sam to the entrance. "Sam, she's still alive… and the good doctor. What the hell are you doing, Whitman?" Lara whispers to herself as she watches them from above.**_

 _ **They stopped however, by the presence of two stormguard warriors at the foot of the bridge.**_

" _ **Who are these…?" Whitman pauses**_

" _ **The stormguard" Mathias speaks**_

" _ **People" as Whitman finish his sentence**_

" _ **They wait only to be introduced to their new Queen, by the one who brought her back to us." Mathias says playing on Whitman's ego and convincing him to approach the Oni.**_

" _ **Ah, of course, of course" Whitman says as he starts walking to the Stormguard warriors "I have encountered archaic tribes before. Let's get some awards, James!"**_

" _ **What is he doing?" Lara whispers to herself again as she watches how Whitman talks to the Oni's**_

" _ **My name is Dr. James Whitman. I come to you in peace" he talks to them as he gets closer to them "I bring you your new Queen."**_

" _ **Oh no!" Lara says as she sees Mathias hiding as he holds Sam by him as Whitman calls to him to bring Sam to them.**_

" _ **Your Queen." He says again "What is it in Japanese… Your… Joou!"**_

 _ **The Oni are provoked into attacking Whitman after he said it and he is brutally slaughtered to death as Mathias and Sam slips past them and across the bridge into the Monastery as Lara tries to get to Sam.**_

Yamatai will always haunt me, it's my fault I could have saved Whitman even if he wanted to kill us no one deserves to be killed like that, and he was only thinking on his career. I sighed and booked out of the hotel and went into the street. That's when I saw a man across the street, smoking a cigarette and watching me. He looked just like…No, Lara don't go there. It couldn't be him, could it? The man threw the cigarette to the ground and walked in my direction and stood in front of me. I couldn't breathe, those eyes met mine and I got scared that this could only be a dream.

"Hey Lara." He said with that American accent.

"Kurtis" I said finally and a tear fell down my cheek.


	4. Chapter 4: I need your help

**Chapter 4: I need your help**

 **Lara kept on running while the room where she had fought Eckhardt and Karel was falling apart. She didn't care about the periapt shards or the Sanglyph. Only thing she had in mind was to get herself out of that place as quickly as possible without having major injuries. It seemed that the whole Strahov Fortress or at least this part of it was going to fall down any second. She could see the end of the hallway but it seemed too far. She ran as fast as she could and tried to avoid getting smashed under a piece of a rock. The rest of the journey she had to jump and she barely avoided a large rock that sealed the hallway like a tomb that should have never been opened.**

 **Finally she was back in the place where she had last seen Kurtis and the room didn't seem to be falling apart so she had little rest. Every part of her body was aching as she sat down and hangs her head. This was far stranger than she had been through before...or perhaps not quite. On her journeys she had met an Egyptian god, been to Atlantis, found a dagger that turned anyone who struck it in their heart into a dragon and seen a man becoming a giant spider. Well...perhaps this wasn't the strangest thing. But this time had been different. It wasn't about some artefact buried thousands of years ago. It was simply about revenge from her and his side.**

 **Lara raised her head and noticed that the room was as silent as a grave. She stood up and walked to the edge of the arena where she had left Kurtis. There was no one...at least any humans. A carcass that seemed to belong to Boaz lay almost in the middle of the room. Little farther away she could see some humanlike creature, but it had wings. What was it? She jumped down and decided to take a closer look. The creature looked like it had once been a woman...Boaz? Kurtis was nowhere to be seen. Only thing that told her that he had been there is the strange weapon of his that lay on the floor covered in blood. Carefully she picked it up like fearing it would turn into dust from her touch or going to take her fingers of at any time. It didn't. Instead it sprang to life like she had seen it doing many times...but only in Kurtis's presence. She smiled and followed it out the building only to find that it's blades when back. "No, saw me the way." But it remind silent so she walked of and went to the police station. One thing going on in her mind that he died trying to call his weapon or he was trying call for help. A tear run down her face as she walked off.**

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He looked me up and down before looking in my eyes. "Did you miss me?"

"You're- you're supposed to be…dead," I tried to speak normal but I'm in shock to speak properly.

"Well I'm not dead, Lara" he said.

"But the pool of blood I found" I said placing my hand on my hip.

"I don't know what happened but I woke up in the hospital the next day. I still don't know how I got there. I thought you had taken me there." He said rubbing his head.

"No, I didn't. I found you gone and the pool of blood. I also found this." I said and took out that strange disc of his and handed it to him.

"My Chirugai, I was looking for that" He said taking the disc.

"So, that's what you call that thing." I said pointing to the disc in his hand.

"Yeah, look Lara, I'm not here to chat, I've been at your house but your butler said that you left. So I tracked you down to this hotel." He said looking at the hotel. I was wondering why he was looking for me asked. "What do you want, Kurtis?"

"It's Karel, he's still alive and he's planning something big and I need your help in stopping him" Kurtis answered.

"No thanks, Kurtis I need to work alone. Sorry." I said "It was nice seeing you again take care." I started walking away when I heard him again

"Please Lara, I can't do this alone. Please." He sighed as I only walked on but then as I walked over the street I heard gunshots from the back. I turned around and saw Kurtis fall to the ground. I quickly took out my guns as I ran to his side. I started shooting at the guy who had shot Kurtis. In a few seconds the guy fell to the ground and I focused on Kurtis but when I looked at him he was only smiling at me. He got slowly up and he looked at his shoulder before looking at me. "Looks like you can't stay away from me can you?" he said winking at me. I pushed him a little.

"You fucking bastard, you scared the living shit out of me." I said

"Well, let's talk somewhere private and I'll tell you about Karel's plan." He said

"I'll come with you if you let me look at that wound." I said.

"Fine, I'm staying in an apartment not so far away from here. Let's go." He said and started to walk off. I sighed and walked after him.

We arrived at his apartment and I looked around, the place was dirty and messy. I couldn't understand how he could have a place for one day and have it so messy; assuming he'd only had it for a day. I looked at him as he closed the door behind him. He turned and looked at me "Do want something to drink." He asked

"No thanks. Let me look at that wound first." I said.

"Okay, just let me get the first aid kit." He said and walked off.

I sat on the couch waiting for him when I found a file on Karel lying on the coffee table. I picked it up and started going through the papers. I found that Karel had been traveling a lot since I destroyed his work but I saw something else in this file. A drawing of Karel, standing over a body. The person he was standing over was a female, she looked kind like me. I didn't understand why Kurtis would draw something like this. I looked at the next drawing when I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up and saw Kurtis standing with the Aid kit in his hand looking at me. "I was just looking." I said and closed the file, placing it back on the table.

"No, it's fine I just didn't want you to see those drawings." Kurtis said and sat next to me, handing the aid kit to me.

"Why did you draw me lying on the ground with Karel standing over me with such an evil smile on his face" I asked.

"It wasn't my idea. Look lately I have been having the strangest visions of Karel and you." Kurtis said. One of them was that drawing. I saw how Karel was fighting with you and then he throws you to the ground and stood over you ready to kill you then my vision changed to a woman with so much power, she could destroy Karel." He answered and took off his shirts. I started with the wound.

"So these visions are another Lux Veritatis ability." I said.

"You can say that but I could always control them, now I can't," Kurtis said wincing as I placed the alcohol on the wound.

"When did these visions start getting out of control?" I asked.

"A month ago." He answered.

"Right and it's only me, Karel and this woman you've been seeing" I asked him as I started bandaging him up.

"No, I also saw this tomb but I don't why" Kurtis answered.

"What Tomb?" I looked at him

"I think the people call it the Tomb of the Lara" he said with a smile but I hit him on his injured shoulder. He winced in pain.

"Very funny, Kurt but what's the name" I asked

"I don't know, it looked like a Mayan tomb but I'm not sure." He answered.

"Done" I said placing the rest of the medical supplies back in the aid kit before I went on with the subject at hand. "Okay, did you draw this tomb? Maybe something you saw can lead us to it or why you are seeing it."

"Yeah, I have it in my study" he said getting up and putting his shirts on. I must say he looks hot with a six pack. I looked away when I noticed that I was staring too long. "Come on" I heard him say so I got up and followed him to his study.

"Is it me or did you have this apartment for a long time" I said as we were walking.

"I stayed here a few years back, just after I left the Legion." He answered and we entered his study. Just like the rest of the place, it was messy.

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 **Thank you to Lux Veritatis for letting me use your first chapter... I hope you got my email I send you to help you with your next chapter...**


	5. Chapter 5: Following me again?

**Chapter 5: Following me again?**

I sat down on a chair as Kurtis walked to the desk and picked up another file. He opened it and paged through some papers before taking a paper out and handing it to me.

"This is the Tomb" he said. I took the drawing and looked at it. As I did I heard him sit down on a chair that made a noise. I ignored it and went on with the drawing. It did look like a Mayan Tomb, but it looked like the one I've been to, to find Thor's belt.

I looked up at Kurtis who sighed "So is it a Mayan Tomb" He asked.

"This Tomb looks like the one I've been to that I visited a few months back" I answered. "The Tomb is Mayan; you can see the statues of the Lords of Xibalba."

"The what?" he said with a frown.

"The Lords of Xibalba reportedly enjoyed using mannequin to humiliate visitors before sending them into deadly trap rooms. These themed tests supposedly were to test the worth of visitors, but were really intended to kill them outright as entertainment." I explained, looking back down to the drawing.

"Okay, what about the water?" He asked as he got up and sat on a chair next to me. He pointed to a little river.

"This is a drawing, Kurtis. How did it look in the visions?" I asked looking at him

"I can show you." He said holding out his hand.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's another ability, I can show people my visions." He said "And I can't really explain what the water looked like."

"Okay." I said and placed my hand in his. In a moment I saw myself in the Tomb, walking past a dead body that was killed by some traps. Then I saw the river, it looked like the one in the drawing. I looked closer and that's when it came to me that wasn't water. I quickly snapped back to reality and Kurtis only looked at me.

"I know what it is, the river isn't water. It's Eitr." I answered.

"I know you're gonna tell me what the hell Eitr is" He said crossing his arms.

"In Norse Myth, Eitr was an elixir that bestowed eternal life to the gods" I took a breath.

"But" Kurtis asked leaning back in the chair.

"But paradoxically it was poison that came from serpents, like the Mudguard Serpent. This is similar to the Hindu concept of amrita, or ambrosia to the Greeks." I took another breath, Kurtis just listened to me. "Only the Norse came closest to the literal truth; that the substance was indeed poison and in fact only gave the appearance of eternal life in the animation of corpses."

"Okay so we don't touch it, got it." Kurtis said. He then took the file and handed it to me. "There's more of the tomb in here. The outside also." I opened it and gasped at the first drawing. I looked at Kurtis.

"I know where this tomb is." I said getting up. "It's near the place I've been to at the south side of Mexico"

"How do you know?" He asked and I showed him the drawing.

"Because this is a Mayan Calendar, there's only one in the Mayan world." I answered.

"Calendar?" He asked raising an eyebrow at me.

"The Mayan calendar had only 360 days and the remaining five were the unnamed days." I sighed "The Mayans believed that each year when the unnamed days arrived, the gates to the underworld would open."

"Wait the underworld. This is great" Kurtis said with a sigh. I looked at him with confusion.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I was busy with a creature that had come from the underworld a month ago." He answered.

"Wait, didn't you say, you started losing control over your visions also a month ago." I asked

"Yes, why" He asked.

"Did you go into the Underworld?" I asked.

"Yes, I needed to take the creature back. Lara what are you getting at?" he asked.

"Kurtis, your visions are going out of control, because of the underworld." I said and started pacing.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked

I stopped and looked at him; he could see the worry in my face "Yes" I answered and then just start to fell tears on my checks, sitting down I thought again back to my past.

 **Lara rushes to the very center of the city to the Chamber of souls, where Ana is about to use the Divine Source. Lara then stops and screams at her.**

" **Ana! Stop!" Lara looks at her "Your man are defeated, your bother is dead."**

" **No." Ana says not believing it**

" **That is what Trinity has wrought. Death and that's all they will ever bring." This shocks Ana "Give this up." Lara says walking closer but Ana refuses to.**

" **I gave up everything for this. I have no intention of giving it to Trinity." Ana says "What about your father? You're dooming him to be mocked by history." Ana is dismayed by her "How can you let this go? When you're so close."**

" **I'm willing to make that sacrifice. I can't let you take it." Lara answers.**

" **Think of the millions suffering and dying. We can save them. We can change the world. Together" Ana says.**

" **The cost is too high, Ana. We aren't meant to live forever. Death is a part of life."**

 **Lara says walking even closer as Ana holds the Divine source in her arms.**

" **That's easy for you to say. You're not the one who's dying." Ana says angry at Lara**

" **But this isn't about you. This is about humanity. About what it means to be human."**

 **A mercenary appears "They're coming! We're surrounded!" And he gets stabbed in the back by Jacob. Ana quickly shoots Jacob multiple times retaliation, injuring but not killing him.**

 **Lara shouts "Jacob! Look out!"**

 **Wounded, Jacob shouts. "The Source…is not meant for the world!"**

 **As Lara aims her gun at Ana, she aims her gun at Lara as well, beginning a standoff.**

" **This is your chance Lara. Everything I've done. Everything you've done." An army of deathless ones' corners Ana "Another Croft doesn't have to die for this."**

" **But I'm willing to." Lara answers.**

" **Well I'm not." Ana is cornered and looks at Lara. "Please. I'm dying. This is my only hope."**

 **Ana says which leaves her no choice but to unleash the powers of the artefact.**

" **Ana, No!" Lara screams shielding her eyes. The artefact overpowers Ana dropping the shining blue crystal. Lara grabs it but wouldn't look at it for it might overpower her as well. She lifts the crystal up in the air and looks at Jacob.**

 **Ana looks up to see what Lara is about to do "Nooo!"**

" **It's okay." Jacob says.**

" **I'm sorry" Lara whispers and finally breaks the Divine Source into pieces, letting the power escape from the crystal, much to Ana's dismay. Now that the Divine Source is destroyed, the Deathless ones lose their immortality and die and Jacob loses his immortality as well as Lara runs to his side. "Jacob! Hold on..."**

 **She knees by him as he looks at her "I've hold on…for too long already." Jacob answers**

" **You knew I'd destroy it." Lara says with a sight.**

" **In all my years…" Jacob says weakly "I've met few as extraordinary as you."**

 **Jacob coughing goes on "it's finally happening." He laughs "My ending."**

" **I'm sorry. All I wanted was to make a difference." Lara says with sadness**

" **You already have… you already have." Jacob says touching Lara shoulder before he leaves peacefully and disintegrates. As Ana starts crawling away.**

I wish I could have saved him but he was happy to die and maybe I did do the right thing then. I got up from the chair and walked to the window as more tears fell down my cheeks. I couldn't tell him the truth, not yet anyway. Not until I'm sure I can find a cure to save him. As I thought, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to the owner of it and saw those blue eyes staring into my brown ones. I looked back out of the window. I could see people walking around on the streets, trying to get out of the pouring rain. I sighed and looked at the Chinese shop across the street. It is busy, but something caught my eye. I looked closer but I heard his voice in my ear.

"Lara, what's the matter." He asked and I only looked at him, tears still coming down.

"Nothing" I quickly said and glanced back to what I had seen but it was gone.

"Lara, I know something is wrong." He uttered and wrapped his arms around me, I wanted to push him away but I didn't, I only rested my head on his chest, wrapped my arms around his waist and the tears only came out more. "Lara" I looked up at him and sighed.

"I can't lose you again." I said and tried to stop crying.

"You won't lose me again, okay." He tried to make me stop worrying as he looked into my brown eyes.

"How sure are you about that" I asked and wiped my tears away.

"Because, I'll do anything to be with you, even fight to stay alive" he smirked at me and I only smiled at him. "So, you done crying?"

"Let's get back to business then." I said and broke the embrace. "But first, where is the bathroom?"

"Go out of my study and turn left then you'll find it." He answered and sat down on a chair that was littered with papers and plastic bags underneath. I ignored it and walked out and to the bathroom.

As I entered the bathroom, I glanced around and noticed a bloody T-shirt in the bath, a small little table next to the toilet with some magazines and a candle. On the sink, there was a bloody soap, the tap was leaking and it was just dirty from the blood and mud. What was he doing, I thought and opened the tap and washed my face with the hot water. As the water poured down into the dirty sink, the blood and dirt slowly went down the drain but not everything. It looked like the blood was two to three days old; I told myself and turned the tape off. I glanced for a towel and found one, hanging from the shower door. I took the towel and wiped my face dry before I hung it back, but now that I'm looking at this bathroom where is the mirror. I sighed and left the bathroom and back to the study. I felt nervous to tell him that his life was in danger. I shook my head and walked in.

Inside I saw Kurtis going through a book and as I looked closer at the book I couldn't see a title. The book looked old and wanted to fall apart. It was in a bad condition and so I ignored it and looked at the room better this time. I noticed a Chinese takeout box on the floor next to a full and overflowing trash bin, some crumbled up papers here and there and his desk was full of the papers, pens, pencils, five empty coffee cups. And that's when I noticed the clip board on the wall at the right of the desk. I walked over and looked at the papers and photos clipped onto it. The photos were of Karel, a man, two women and me. Wait he has photos of me, was he spying on me, I thought and heard a sigh behind me. I turned and saw him staring at me.

"Why do you have photos of me?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest.

"That, eh…I can explain" he mumbled the last part.

"Then start talking." I said, glad that I had time to think of what to tell him about his visions.

"Well, as you can see the photos were taken after the manor was blown up." He started, I only nodded. "Well I was heading to your home that night when the explosion went off, sending me backward to the ground." I froze; he was there the same time. Oh I'm gonna kill that doppelganger, I thought.

"Then what, you decided to follow me around just like Paris and Prague?" I asked in anger.

"No, I decided to follow you because I saw Karel driving away after the Manor blew up and I knew he was the one behind everything that had been happening." He explained but that made me frown, what was Karel doing there? I asked myself but didn't get an answer.

"Well, he wasn't the one behind the explosion of my Manor." I simply said.

"And you know this, How?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Because Natla sent a doppelganger to break into my home." I answered.

"Wait, Natla, Natla from the Natla technologies?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes it was her" I answered.

"Do you know Karel paid her a visit the other day?" He declared.

"No, I did not and I killed Natla back in Avalon with the hammer."

"Well, she's still alive. I had an encounter with her once but that was three years ago. She and Karel had been working together on something called the S-"he paused, trying to remember the name.

"The Scion?" I asked and he frowned at me.

"Wait, how do you know about that?" he asked.

"She hired me a few years back to find it for her." I answered.

"Well, she's helping Karel. That reminds me, why were you crying a few moments ago?" He asked.

Great, now I have to tell him something or he'll never let this one go, I thought and paced the floor nervously, my stomach started to turn. Finally, I sat down and looked at him. "You see the underworld is a powerful place and when you went down there with your powers, the underworld started draining it away." I answered but that wasn't everything and I'm not gonna tell him that other part.

"So what can happen?" he asked

"Anything but in your case, the underworld is controlling your visions" and it's all going to come true, I told myself.

"So is there something I can get, to get back in control?" he asked.

"Yes, there is but it's dangerous." I answered.

"How dangerous?" he asked and then I heard a noise, my fingers touched my pistols but I saw Kurtis looking at me. Didn't he hear the noise or was it my mind playing tricks on me, I wondered.

"Well, there's a chance getting in but getting out can lead to death." I answered.

"What is it we need to get or where?" he asked.

"The mountains tears" I answered.

"Where is that?"

"Tears of the mountains is also known as the mountain of youth." I answered "Now you need to tell me everything of the last months." I looked at him, his face showed signs of guilt, why was he guilty or what was he hiding? I thought. He opened his mouth but then we both ducked under the table when someone started firing at us.


	6. Chapter 6: Who are you?

**Chapter 6: Who are you?**

The shots were coming from the living room, I had already holster out my guns but Kurtis is looking at the window. I heard the door open and as quick as I am; I shot at the two mercenaries and ducked back behind the table.

"We need to get out of here" I whispered.

Kurtis looked at me "We jump" he said and I looked at him, confused by his words.

"We what?" I asked, holding the guns in my hands even tighter.

"There's too many of them coming Lara, we need to jump out the window." Kurtis answered.

"Kurtis, we are too high up, maybe you can survive such a fall but I can't" I declared.

"Remember how I helped you out in the arena to get you up the catwalk in the Strahov" Kurtis smiled at me as he remembered the whole event.

"Yes" I answered

"Well I can also help you down high places like this." He said as he pointed to the window.

I looked at him, not wanting to do it but more bullets came flying into the room and then I just sighed and holstered back my guns and grabbed his hand. We got up and ran to the window and jumped through it. Glass flew out with us, as I closed my eyes in fear, but I opened them again when I felt the ground under my feet. Kurtis is looking back up to the window and saw a man looking down at us, a man Kurtis recognized. I also recognized the man he ordered his men to shot at me back in the Louvre and he also stood next to Eckhardt when I came from the Vault of Tropic.

I looked at Kurtis and I saw his expression suddenly changing into anger. I looked back and saw him aiming at us that's when I felt a hand on my arm, pulling me to run. I looked at Kurtis as he pulled me, I wanted to pull back but then bullets came flying at us and I had no choice but to run with Kurtis. A few blocks away is a bike and Kurtis smiled at me. I shot back at the people behind us as Kurtis jumped onto the bike. I looked at him with confusion, how is there a bike ready for us.

"Are you climbing on or do you want to stay and fight?" He asked, I sighed and quickly climbed onto the bike and we drove off into the distance.

* * *

We came to a stop, in front of a house that looked old and the grass hadn't been cut in years. I climbed off the bike and looked around. We were in the downtown area and I looked at Kurtis as he walked to the gate.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"This is a safe house, they won't find us here" he answered and I followed him to the door. The place looked so small, like an apartment.

I searched the interior house for something interesting, but saw very little. We entered the house into a small kitchen, which led directly into the living room. There were seats placed periodically throughout the room, and the ceiling and floor were graced by water and rusty stains.

I saw several papers lying on the small kitchen table and on the floor near the dustbin. Used dishes were lying in the sink and on the counter. I wondered why a random safe house would have such objects, unless Kurtis had been staying here, for a while to keep in the shadows and not be noticed.

"Nice place" I falsely stated, as I sat down on the chair by the small kitchen table. Kurtis joined me as I heard him say.

"It's a shitty place." He uttered under his breath.

"I take it you use this place a lot?" I stated.

"I only come when I'm in danger." Kurtis replied.

"And recently you've been in a lot of danger." I stated as I looked at the sink.

"I wasn't here lately." Kurtis looked worried and it made me concerned. If he wasn't here then who was.

"You're saying that someone else was here." I asked.

"Yes" Kurtis simple said.

"Who?" He only looked at me in fear.

"I, I don't know" he uttered.

"Kurtis, it's time I get some answers." I said.

Kurtis sighed "What do want to know?"

"Everything" I stated in a little anger. "Who the hell are you?"

Kurtis looked at me in disbelief and while he looked down to the ground, he heard a clicking sound, making him look up. He is looking at the barrel of a gun; I really am getting pissed off about this whole thing. I'm not gonna help him until I had some answers and if it meant threatening him with a gun to his head, then so be it.


End file.
